A new bridge stretching over the Haitan Strait, linking Pingtan county and Fuqing city, will open to traffic in June, officials attending a meeting concerning the traffic and economic situation of Fujian province said on Jan 12.

Construction of a 6,001-meter auxiliary bridge for the Pingtan Haitan Bridge started in 2010, with a gross investment of 1.5 billion yuan ($248.1 million). The auxiliary bridge is designed for one-way travel, with three lanes and a speed limit of 80 kilometers per hour. It will run next to the Pingtan Haixia Bridge, and is expected to increase traffic capacity. The two bridges will allow travel in both directions and have a total of six lanes.

The officials attending the meeting pledged to complete five major road projects - stretching 118 kilometers - this year, and called for the accelerated construction of another 22 projects, with a length of 918 kilometers.

They also said that Fujian province invested 42.1 billion yuan on highway construction in 2013, exceeding the original target by 5.3 percent.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Niva Whyman